5.5 "Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow" Quiz

Answer: Punky Brewster

The narrator claims that Punky Brewster's career was "filled with lies and backstabbing", and that "she learned that the price of fame can be pleasing 65 men at once in a dark alley." Upon the end of that show, at 3:30, the boys rejoice as it is time for their favorite show, "Terrance and Phillip". Even though they laugh at the scene, the boys are upset that they are watching another re-run of their "famous mechanic sketch." Apparently, the episode has been aired so many times that the boys know all the lines by heart.

"Punky Brewster" was a 1980's American sitcom that starred George Gaynes as Henry Warnimont, a widowed man who managed the building where Punky Brewster, a little girl who was abandoned by both her parents, lived. Henry eventually becomes Punky's foster father and adopts her.

Answer: Brainwashing

"Terrance and Phillip" goes to a commercial break, where it is announced that there will be an event to meet the characters in person and watch them perform live. They all become very excited and write down the number to get tickets. At school, Kyle shows up with four tickets, claiming he waited in line since 3:00am. When Butters asks if they are going to see Terrance and Phillip live, Stan replies "yes, tomorrow night." Their teacher announces that the heads of the Earth Day Brainwashing Organization, who are all wearing golden ribbons, are in the classroom to tell the children about the festival.

This episode parodied Earth Day as a "brainwashing" day, but it is important to remember it was written in 2001! A lot has changed since then, especially awareness about the state of the world in terms of global warming.

Answer: Republicans

The heads of the Earth Day Brainwashing Festival tell the children that it is up to them to make people go to the festival. They make a bad attempt at hypnotizing them by telling the boys that "they don't care about Terrance and Phillip", and that nothing matters more than saving the planet from Republicans, alluding to the Republican Party in the United States.

This reference is because throughout the years, many representatives of the Republican party have denied climate change and its effects on the world.

A notable example is Senator Jim Inhofe, who in 2015 took a snowball to Congress to prove that the weather was not warm, but cold.

Answer: He is fat

Kyle claims that they are the official presidents of the Terrance and Phillip Fan Club, and that by going to their live performance, they can get them to perform at the Earth Day Festival. The heads of the festival like the suggestion, since it would "draw huge ratings from children all over the country." They agree to prepare the event while the boys attempt to get Terrance and Phillip, but warn them not to lie to them because they can be very unforgiving. We then see the children in their seats, as the show is about to begin.

However, only Terrance comes out, and as Kyle points out, "Terrance got really fat." His solo performance is not received well, so another actor dressed as Phillip comes out, but the boys are not amused and pledge to get to the bottom of this.

Answer: Sneaking into a woman's spandex

When they try to get into the dressing room claiming they are the official presidents of the fan club, the security guard sends them to a very long line with all the other children who claim to be presidents. Cartman calls the guard a "redneck", and they then see another line, which is shorter, for "female groupies".

They sneak into a fat woman's spandex and they gain access to Terrance. The fat woman starts kissing Terrance until Cartman cannot resist anymore and comes out. Thinking that the woman gave birth to Cartman, Terrance says "that was fast" and suggests to name him Jerry.

As the other boys come out, he claims he had quadruplets, which the boys quickly clarify. The boys tell Terrance they want him to perform at Earth Day, and he says it sounds like a noble cause and asks how much the pay is.

When they ask about Phillip, Terrance gets upset because everyone asks him about him, even though he left Terrance to do "more serious stuff".

Answer: Toronto

The boys are not happy about the news that Phillip is in Toronto, since they promised the Earth Day people they would get both Terrance and Phillip to perform. The next scene shows the Earth Day representatives telling the children to work hard, and Clyde telling them that his dad is a geologist and told him "there is no concrete evidence of global warming." They respond saying that is not true and that global warming, for which "the Republicans are responsible", will kill everyone.

The children come back with the bad news, and the organizers are evidently not happy with the news that Terrance and Phillip split up.

They agree to make arrangements to send the boys to Canada, because "nothing is more important than the environment, not even your lives."

Answer: Hamlet

After the play finally ends, the boys tell Phillip that South Park was chosen to host the Earth Day festival and that they need a big act. Phillip says that this production of "Hamlet" is closing down, but they could take it to Colorado. The boys suggest a reunion with Terrance, but he responds he will no longer work with "that fat egomaniac," who takes credit for all the work and will not let him change any of the lines. Cartman threatens to make him eat his parents should he not cooperate (a reference to Scott Tenorman, who in the previous episode of the season actually ate his own parents in the form of chilli, as a result of one of Cartman's most evil revenge plots.) Kyle lies to Phillip, telling him everyone in South Park wants to see his talent, and saying the pay is $2000. Phillip agrees, not knowing that Terrance will also be at the festival.

Answer: Arms

The Earth Day people are pleased to see Terrance and Phillip, but instead of performing correctly, they despondently practice some of the lines before they get into a fight. They both refuse to perform, and the Earth Day people tell the boys they have 3 hours to get them back together, or they would face consequences, after which they cut off Kenny's other arm. Unable to reunite the duo, they show a video of "Behind the Blow", which tells the story of Terrance and Phillip.

The Earth Day people grow increasingly angry because the performance is not live, and begin chasing the boys with a cleaver!

Answer: The Ed Sullivan Show

Unable to bring Terrance and Phillip back together, Kyle and his friends decide to play an episode of "Behind The Blow", based on the Canadians' lives. The video claims that Terrance was born in the "small Canadian village of Toronto" and that he was enrolled in the Canadian School for Gifted Babies due to his musical talent. There, he met Phillip from Montreal, and they started to perform musical acts together. As six-year-old children, they performed in "The Ed Sullivan Show", "exposing Americans to Canadians for the first time." The public was stunned and confused by their heads (in "South Park", Canadians have differently-shaped heads.) When Phillip farted, though, the audience was very amused, which led to Terrance farting as well. This would be the beginning of their career as comedians. According to the documentary, Terrance and Phillip began mixing their humor with political insight on "The Sonny & Cher Show."

"The Ed Sullivan Show", originally called "The Toast of the Town", was a CBS show that ran from 1948 to 1971, and was hosted by Ed Sullivan.

Answer: Nobel Peace Prize

The boys run away from the furious environmental activists, which leads Stan to say that they lack logic or reason. After their act on the "Donny and Marie" show, Terrance and Phillip won a Nobel Peace Prize, though no further explanation is provided. The video narrates that they were on the cover of every magazine. After a fan revolt that led to a generalized hatred of the Canadians, Terrance became depressed and abused wood polish, while Phillip beat a 6-year-old fan. They finally decided to get back together for one last film, "Asses of Fire", which started the fictional Canadian-American War of 1999 (which was featured in the "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" movie.)

At the end of the video, Terrance and Phillip decide to put aside their differences and apologize to each other, thus ending the episode on a happy note.